Basketball Schedule Released

CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will begin its second century of varsity play on Friday, November 12 against Lipscomb in the Smith Center. Less than a week later, the Tar Heels will journey to play three games in four days at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, P.R.

The Atlantic Coast Conference released the team's schedule on Thursday afternoon. Carolina celebrated its 100th season in 2009-10 and became the second program in college basketball history to amass 2,000 victories.

UNC will play Hofstra in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday, Nov. 18 and then will face either Minnesota or Western Kentucky on Friday, Nov. 19. On Sunday, Nov. 21, Carolina will play either 2010 Final Four participant West Virginia, 2010 NCAA Tournament team Vanderbilt, Davidson or Nebraska.

Carolina will host 16 home games plus one exhibition (on Nov. 5 against Barton College). UNC will play at least 11 games against eight teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and could face NCAA Tournament participants Minnesota, Vanderbilt and West Virginia in Puerto Rico. NCAA Tournament participants Kentucky, Texas, Georgia Tech, Clemson (twice), Florida State (twice), Wake Forest, Maryland and Duke (twice) dot the Carolina schedule in 2010-11.

The Tar Heels will play at Illinois on Nov. 30 in the 12th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, marking the second time the team has played the Fighting Illini in the event in Champaign, Ill.

The two winningest programs in college basketball history -- Carolina and Kentucky -- will play for the 10th consecutive season when they meet on Saturday, Dec. 4 in Chapel Hill. UNC has won five of the last six meetings in the annual series and has won 21 of 32 previous meetings.
Carolina and Texas will meet for the second consecutive season on a neutral court when they face off in the Greensboro Coliseum. Last season, the Tar Heels and Longhorns played the first-ever basketball game in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

UNC will also play non-conference home games against Lipscomb, UNC Asheville, College of Charleston, Long Beach State, William and Mary and St. Francis (Pa.). Carolina will play at Evansville on Dec. 8 in a contest played near the hometown of junior forward Tyler Zeller, a native of nearby Washington, Ind. Carolina also will play Rutgers in Madison Square Garden in New York City on Dec. 28.

UNC begins ACC play on Jan. 8 at Virginia. The Cavaliers are one of six teams the Tar Heels will play once in 2010-11. Carolina will play home games against Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Maryland and road games against Virginia, Miami and Georgia Tech.